Foot-measuring device



Cent. 3, 1939. N. HACK ET Al.' 2,175,115 i FOOT-MEASURING DEVICE Filedsept. 28, 193e s sheets-sheet 1 ATTORNEY.

Oct."3, 1939. N, HACK Er AL 2,175,116

FOOT-MEASURING DEVICE l ATTORNEY.

OC. 3, N, HACK El' AL 2,175,116

FOT-MEASURING DEVICE Filed sept. 28, 1936 .3 Sheets-Sheet 3 MMM MexZea/fard cv 7%0/1705 gama/7er INVENTORS ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE and Thomas L. Dl.Lynxwler, assignors to Hack Shoe Company,

Milwaukee, Wis., Detroit,

Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application September 28, 1936, SerialNo. 102,938

3 Claims.

This invention relates to foot measuring devices to be used indetermining the proper size and shape of shoe to be fitted to the iootand has as one of its principal objects to provide a means forsimultaneously ascertaining several dimensions of the foot wh-ereby acorrelation of all dimensions may be obtained at a single examination.More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide meansfor simultaneously measuring the length and width oi the foot and therelative positions of the heads of the metatarsals on each side of thefoot.

The head of the rst metatarsal lies approximately at the ball or widestplace on the inside of the foot and the head of the fth metatarsal liesapproximately at the widest place on the outside of the foot. Therelative longitudinal positions of these two points varies in differentfeet, and this variation must be taken into account in the accuratetting of shoes. In the average foot, the head of the fth metatarsal liesa little in back of the head of the iirst, that is, the foot has a smallamount of what is termed outflare. Individual feet vary from theaverage, some having a large amount of outflare, that is, having thehead of the fifth metatarsal far in back of the head of the rst. Otherfeet have little or no outlare, that is, have the heads of themetatarsals about opposite each other, while some feet have what iscalled inflare, that is, have the head of the fifth metatarsal ahead ofthe head of the rst. Most feet have a nare near the average and will becomfortable in a shoe of the ordinary length F and width and shaped to tan average foot.

If the flare differs much from the average, however, shoes made to fitfeet with that amount of are are necessary. To provide an accurate andconvenient means of measuring the amount of nare is an important objectof this invention.

Another object is to provide means for inspecting the longitudinalarches of both feet while also inspecting the heel for pronation. Inthis way, it can be readily determined whether a iiat or low arch iscaused by weakness of the arch or by rotation of the heel.

Another object is to provide a device having utility as above describedwhich is equipped with proper illuminating means so that accuratereadings may be obtained and so that, in addition, the positions of restof the toes may be inspected, as an indication of the condition of themetatarsal arch of each foot.

Other objects and advantages will become hereinafter more fully apparentas reference is had to the accompanying drawings wherein our inventionis illustrated by way of example.

In the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of theinvention Figure 1 is a plan View. LI5

Figure 2 is a sectional View on the line 2--2 of Figure l, taken in thedirection of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a plan view with certain elements removed to show theinterior of the device.

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the` line 4-4 of Figure 1, taken in thedirection of the arrows, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the measuringchart.

The embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings is in the form ofa platform upon which `i5 a person stands while his ieet are beingmeasured. The platform comprises a hollow base I0 with its upper surfaceformed by a pair oi glass panels II, one for each foot. A vertical heelboard I2 extends up at one end of the platform 120 and a narrow invertedV-shaped stile I3 extends down the center. The heel board I2 and thestile I3 are the means for locating the feet on the platform when theyare to be measured, the back of the heels being placed against the heelboard I2 and the inner sides of the feet being placed against the stileI3.

A square rod or slide I4 extends along the center of the platform abovethe stile I3 and carries a slider I5 with a finger or pointer I6extending down on each side of the stile I3. Each side of the platformis provided with a side bar or rod I'I which is parallel to the stile I3and slidable sideways above the glass panel II towards and away from thestile I3, being guided by a slide I8 at the front of the platform. Theglass panels I I, which are supported around their edges by a rabbet I9in the top of the base I0, are each made of two superposed plates IIaand IIb having a translucent chart 2Q, seen in Figure 1, between them.Each chart 2i! is illuminated from below by an electric light 2larranged to be turned on whenever pressure, as by the weight of a foot,is exerted on the panel II. The light 2| is controlled automatically bya plunger actuated switch 22 placed so that the extended plunger 23holds the panel I I raised slightly from its rabbet. When a foot isplaced upon the panel Il, the weight of the foot pushes the panel IIdown into place, closing the switch 22 and turning on the 50 light 2|.When the foot is removed, a spring in the switch 22 raises the plunger23 and the panel II and opens the switch 22, turning 01T the light 2I.

When the device is to be used, the person Whose 55 feet are to bemeasured stands upon the glass panels II with his feet touching the heelboard I2 and the stile I3 as described above. The slider is positionedso that the pointers or ngers I6 carried by it touch the ball or thewidest part of the inside of the feet where the heads of the firstmetatarsals are located. Then the side bars I? are slid towards thecenter until they just touch the outside of the feet. The measurementscan then be read o-iT.

The length of the feet is shown by the straight heel to toe lengthscales on the charts 20 alongside of the stile I3.V The `position of theheads of the first metatarsals is shown by a numeral on the top of theslide I4 appearing through an aperture 24 in the slider I5. The positionof the heads of the fifth metatarsals is; measured by scales on the sidebars I1. The scales are made so that, for an average foot which will befitted perfectly by a standard shoe, the numerical value of these threemeasurements Will be the same. For most feet, however, they will differmore or less and the amount of the difference will enable an experiencedperson to readily determine whether special shoes are necessary. Thedifference between the two side measurements, which shows how much theiiare of the foot differs from the average, is especially important inthis connection.

After the proper length of the shoe has been determined, generally bychoosing the number indicated by position of the slider I5, the width ofthe shoe can be read off the chart 26. The outer edge of th-e footintersects at right angles a set of lines numbered according to shoelengths. The diagonal line which is closest to the intersection with theline having the number of the correct length bears a letter whichindicates the correct width.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, an additional scale hasbeen provided along the foot length scale on each side for indicatingthe proper size of hose according to the length of the foot. Also, thestile I3 is made of two mirrors, and their angle is such that the archesof the feet can be readily seen by looking down on the mirrors. The useof mirrors which are looked straight down upon ensures that the archesof all feet measured by the device will be examined from the same angleso that the user of the device will quickly acquire skill in judging theheight of arches. At the back of the device is a pair of verticalmirrors 25 placed at an angle to enable the feet to be seen from theback by a person in front of the device. 'I'he amount of pronation ortilting of the foot can thus be readily estimated. 'I'he verticalmirrors 25 are carried by a pair of boards 26 which slide down intoplace on the base IU and are readily removable, allowing them to betaken off of the device and kept out of the way when a person is.stepping up onto the platform and to be quickly replaced as soon as thefeet are to be examined and measured.

What we claim is:

1. In a foot measuring device, a horizontal surface upon which the solesof both feet are adapted to be placed, an inverted V-shaped mirror aboveand dividing said surface, said mirror forming a foot positioningelement adapted to be engaged by both feet of a person standing on saidsurface, said mirror having its sides extending at an angle whereby thearches of both feet may be viewed simultaneously, and means cooperatingwith said mirror for measuring said foot.

2. In a foot measuring device, a horizontal surface upon which the solesof both feet are adapted to be placed, a mirror above and dividing saidsurface, said mirror forming a foot positioning element for both feetsimultaneously, said mirror having sides inclined at such an angle tothe vertical that the arches of both feet may be examined at one time, aheel board perpendicular to said surface and to said mirror, and meanslaterally adjustable with respect to said mirror for measuring distancesfrom said mirror.

3. In a foot measuring device, a surface upon which the soles of thefeet are adapted to be placed and a Inirror above and dividing saidsurface, said mirror forming a foot positioning element for both feet ofa person standing upon said surface, and having its opposite surfacesconverging upwardly and serving as an aid in the examination of the archwhereby the arches of both feet may be examined simultaneously.

NATHAN HACK. LEONARD HACK. THOMAS L. D. LYNXWILER.

